Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change

by M.V. Ramana

The climate crisis has inspired new hope in nuclear energy. Its advocates claim we already have the technology of the future, ready to be perfected and deployed. But as M. V. Ramana argues in this urgent and lucid book, such think�ing is not only na�ve but dangerous.

Beyond the horrific risk of severe accidents and the intrac�table problem of waste disposal, nuclear energy fails the two key tests for any climate cost and time. More expensive than wind and solar, it is also far slower to bring online. A typical plant takes a decade to build; permitting and financing often add another. These are years we do not have.

Nuclear Is Not the Solution dismantles the myth of cheap, clean atomic energy and exposes the vested interests that seek to profit from the technology while offloading its costs and risks onto the public.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, Environment, Science, Ecology, Politics

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2024

Reviews

[Hind · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this feeling very skeptical, I always thought nuclear was as good as renewables. I have to say I am successfully convinced otherwise. The strongest argument against nuclear energy I think is that it’s very high price tag takes money away from renewables that are cheaper and faster to build, and considering the imminent climate crisis we are in, the faster the switch to renewables is complete the better. It’s just pointless to be advocating for nuclear in our current situation.

[Leif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ramana has given us quite a book. I came with an open mind and interested, and despite some odd diversions into easy errors (that might also be unfunny and pointed jokes) found the whole informative.

That said, and oddly, despite well-marshalled arguments and plentiful facts, the whole of the book is less than the sum of its parts, and despite Ramana's evident personality his writing lacks personality. Part of the problem could be the well-worn nature of the subject with its familiar dodges and follies. It certainly isn't a uniform truth: there are passages and entire chapters where the material is gripping, such as Ramana's illustration of why it is more lucrative to be always "building" a nuclear power plant than it would be to actually have that plant up and running!

So, mixed feelings, but a good book and worth reading if you want to enrich your understanding of the corporate side of the debate - this is where you'll find it.

[James Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upon reading this, I have decided that nuclear is not the solution

[carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

i have never wanted someone to have an editor quite this badly

[Tamar Moss · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found many of Ramana's points quite compelling, this book felt pretty scattered. It's fiery and jumped around a bit too much for me without going into much depth. The economic arguments were newer to me and held ground. Takeaways: nuclear is a distraction from solving climate change with renewables, government and private industry have been pushing nuclear propaganda because it is profitable and ratepayers and tax payers cover the costs, the technology hasn't really broken through even this far into its lifetime. Though I read Mahaffey's book for a pro-nuclear take, I almost found that book to give me more detailed reasons to oppose it.

[Ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good rundown of all the problems with nuclear power plants. In short, they're expensive, take lots of time to build, and always finish late and over budget (often significantly so), they produce a lot of radioactive waste that last aeons with no viable way of disposing of them, and they make the proliferation of nuclear weapons much more likely. I wish I had a really good memory so I can cite all the arguments against, e.g., small modular reactors when someone brings up why they're necessary to fight climate change. As a technical challenge, nuclear power is just an overly complicated way to boil water and all the money and resources put into it would be better spent on renewables.

[Trevor Schmidt · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting aspects of the book, I particularly found their concerns about the costs of nuclear energy to be valid. But the rest of the book is filled with fallacies. I particularly found their argument on nuclear proliferation to be the most egregious. I feel like the author did well on things that were in their wheelhouse, but was more lazy on aspects of nuclear energy that wasn’t.